Not to gainsay C's role, but there were a number of competing languages back then with pretty innovative ideas (check out the history of programming languages),

Not to gainsay C's role, but there were a number of competing languages back then with pretty innovative ideas (check out the history of programming languages), and even if C didn't exist, something else would have taken its place. Because a discovery is more foundational doesn't mean its discoverer is necessarily more of a genius (it can mean that, but it doesn't necessarily). For example, just because Newton and Leibniz discovered the calculus, it doesn't mean they were necessarily greater geniuses (though Newton was a genius) than mathematicians who came after. Earlier discoveries are impressive because the discoverers had to see something that no one else saw; but on the other hand, it would have been much easier for them to make progress because you reach breakthroughs very quickly once there's an attack. Compare this to fields that are mature -- it's very very hard to make a dent even if you are 10x the genius of the founder of the field. Comparing geniuses who were active in different periods of time is hard because it's kinda apples and oranges. For inspiration, take a look at this list [1]. [1] History of Programming Languages: Prominent people https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_programming_languages#Prominent_people https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_programming_languag...